Roses and Riots | f. weasley

Chapter 69: The Capture

Flashes of green, burning flames, a screaming woman, a crying baby.

"Emilia," she heard someone saying, and it sounded like her father.

The flames and green flashes and the frightened cries of her families disappeared.

Emilia felt her father kissing her on the forehead as he tucked her under her childhood bed.

"Don't move until we come to get you, alright? I'm going to find Mummy, and then I'll come back to get you," he told her.

"Like hide-and-seek?" she asked in a much younger, smaller voice.

She felt a warm hand on her cheek, "yes, just like hide-and-seek. Don't come out no matter what you hear. Be very still and very quiet, alright?"

"Will you find me in the end?" she whispered.

A tear slid down his cheek, and she wanted to wipe it away with her small hand but she couldn't move.

"I always do."

The dream once again erupted into flames, and she clutched her chest in pain as the fire sparked on her pyjamas.

"Emilia," she heard again, but more far away this time.

"Emilia!" a sharp whisper woke her up, and she saw Harry crouched beside her bed, concern etched on his face.

"Harry?" she whispered shakily, propping herself up on her elbow.

"You were crying, and grabbing at your chest," he said worriedly. "I just came in from keeping watch."

She sighed and sat up, swinging her legs over the side of the cot, taking her quilt with her.

"Nightmare, sorry. I'm going to get some air," she said and Harry also got to his feet.

"Mind some company?" he asked.

She smiled, "don't forget your socks, can't have the Chosen One getting frostbite."

He smiled one of his rare smiles and rolled his eyes fondly, and a few minutes later they were both sitting outside the tent by the small fire Harry had kept lighting during his shift to keep watch for trouble.

They had since relocated to another part of the Forest of Dean, not wanting to stay in the same spot for too long, and in the week since Emilia and Ron had joined Harry and Hermione, they'd moved locations twice, staying within the sheltered seclusion of the dense forest. Hermione had explained her reasoning to them for wanting to visit Xenophilius Lovegood, and the days that followed had been spent planning for this trip. Hermione was still being cold with Ron, but Emilia could see he was grovelling within an inch of his life to get back in her good graces.

"A nightmare?" Harry asked knowingly, poking at the small flames in the fire in front of them.

Emilia nodded, her heart rate beginning to slow down, but seeking comfort by pulling her blanket tighter around her shoulders, "yeah. They're more vivid than before. I guess all of this is bringing things back to the surface."

Harry hummed in understanding, "not exactly surprising."

A comfortable silence settled between them for a few minutes, only hearing the sounds of the crackling fire and the cool breeze causing the branches of the trees around them to creak.

"Want to talk about it?" he asked.

"It's nothing you haven't heard before, and I don't really want to relive it yet again," she said solemnly, and he nodded and allowed them to settle into a peaceful silence again.